People who are dependent on opioids can experience unpleasant and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms when they stop using them. If you or a loved one are struggling with opioid abuse or addiction, you may wish to learn more about opioid detox and the steps you can take to minimize and cope with opioid withdrawal symptoms. Our opioid detox center at our rehab facility in Cincinnati is here to help you or a loved one get on the path to recovery.

More than 11 million people in the United States have used opioids without a prescription. Many developed an addiction to the drugs and experienced opioid withdrawal when they stopped using. While opioid overdose remains the biggest threat for opioid abusers, withdrawal is another issue to be aware of. This is especially true when seeking treatment to stop using opioids, but fortunately, our opioid treatment program at Legacy Healing Cincinnati is here to help.

What Are Opioids?

Opioids are synthetic drugs created in a lab that act the same way as naturally derived opiates. Examples of synthetic opioids include:

• Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is many times more powerful than heroin. It is commonly found in prescription pain medications and can be used as a patch, pill, or injectable liquid. 
• Methadone is a synthetic opioid used to manage severe chronic pain and treat opiate addiction. It can be taken as a pill,  liquid, or wafer.
• Oxycodone is a powerful opioid used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is commonly found in prescription pain medications such as OxyContin or Percocet.
• Hydrocodone is a commonly abused opioid. It is used to relieve pain and can be found in prescription medications such as Vicodin and Lortab.

How Does Opioid Addiction Occur?

Typically, opioid dependence occurs when a person takes an opioid in larger amounts or more frequently than directed or for reasons other than pain relief. This causes the brain to adapt to higher levels of opioids and eventually become dependent on them. An addiction can occur even if you are taking the drug as prescribed by your doctor. Our addiction therapies can help with overcoming this.

Understanding Opioid Withdrawal

Using opioids regularly can cause your body to build a tolerance and physical dependence upon them and create opioid addictive symptoms. This causes people to use them in order to avoid harmful and dangerous opioid withdrawal symptoms. While the physical and mental health symptoms of withdrawal are problematic and uncomfortable, they are not life-threatening like they are with withdrawal symptoms when stopping alcohol or benzodiazepine. That being said, you should know how to point out signs of opioid use and, more importantly, understand what withdrawing from opioids looks like.

Most people who go through withdrawals can expect physical and mental symptoms while in opiate rehabs, such as:

• Agitation and anxiety
• Muscle aches and abdominal cramping
• Insomnia
• Sweating and sleepless nights
• Nausea and vomiting

Get Help for an Opioid Addiction at Our Ohio Rehab Center

Detox alone cannot help you gain freedom from opioid addiction. After successfully completing our opioid detox program, it is highly recommended to pursue further treatment at our inpatient rehab center. There are many opioid detox options available in Ohio, but for the safest and most comfortable environment, we recommend a medically supervised detox program at our Cincinnati, Ohio, drug rehab. Put your trust in our opioid detox center in Ohio. We are here to help you achieve complete sobriety.

If you think that you would benefit from the opioid detox we provide, contact our Cincinnati rehab today and learn more about the levels of care that we offer for addiction treatment.

Related Readings:

The History of Addiction Treatment

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